A review found growing pediatric ER visits for cannabis spanning accidental ingestions in young children (causing hyperkinesis or coma), acute intoxication and injuries in teens, and chronic conditions like hyperemesis and psychosis.
Pediatric emergency physicians, toxicologists, and pediatricians.
Rising pediatric ER visits
What the researchers found
Cannabis-related pediatric ED visits are rising with changing legislation. Presentations range from GI, psychiatric, and cardiorespiratory effects to trauma from impaired psychomotor function. Young children may present with hyperkinesis or coma from accidental ingestion. Chronic complications include cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, depression, psychosis, and cognitive impairment.
Why it matters
As cannabis becomes more available, emergency clinicians need to recognize the full spectrum of cannabis presentations in children and adolescents, from acute ingestion to chronic use complications.
The numbers in context
ED presentations span gastrointestinal, psychiatric, cardiorespiratory, and trauma categories. Young children: hyperkinesis and coma. Teens: acute intoxication, hyperemesis, depression, injuries. Cannabis-related pediatric ED visits increasing.
How the study worked
Review of current literature on the spectrum of cannabis-related emergency department presentations in pediatric populations.
What this study cannot tell us
Review without meta-analytic pooling. Exact incidence rates are difficult to determine. Clinical presentation overlap with other conditions may lead to under-recognition.
How to read the evidence
Rated moderate because the review synthesizes growing literature on a clinically important trend.
When this study was published
Published in 2019.
The bigger picture
The pediatric cannabis presentation spectrum is wider than many clinicians realize, ranging from toddler ingestions mimicking other toxic exposures to chronic conditions in teens that may not be immediately attributed to cannabis use.
Questions still open
- What screening protocols would improve cannabis detection in pediatric ED? How should cardiorespiratory presentations be managed? Will continued legalization further increase pediatric presentations?
Common questions
What happens when young children accidentally eat cannabis?
What chronic cannabis problems bring teens to the ER?
Read the original research
Cannabis-related emergencies in children and teens.
Current opinion in pediatrics, 31(3), 291-296
Citation
Chen, Yih-Chieh; Klig, Jean E. (2019). Cannabis-related emergencies in children and teens.. Current opinion in pediatrics, 31(3), 291-296. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOP.0000000000000752
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